April 23, 2021 (MLN): Pakistani rupee (PKR) extended losses for the fifth session as domestic currency has been under pressure due to a fall of US$62.50 million in SBP’s forex reserves and importers’ demand for dollars. The local currency closed the day’s trade at PKR 153.87 per US dollar, down by 41 paisa against the previous closing of 153.46 in the interbank market.
The rupee endured a relatively dull trading session with very little intraday movement, trading in a range of 27 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 154.02 and an intraday Low offer of 153.85.
Taking to his Twitter handle, Asad Rizvi, Former Treasury Head-Chase Manhattan Bank said, 'Net SBP RESERVES fell by $62m, which is tiny. But increase in IMPORT is adding pressure on the balance of payment (BoP) position, as the pace of growth in EXPORT is slow that has to pick up to support ongoing business activity.’
During the week, the currency has lost 1.1 rupees against the greenback, as the previous week was concluded at PKR 152.82 per USD.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 153.50/154.50 per USD.
According to the data compiled by Mettis Global, MTD (month to date) position witnessed a decrease of 0.72% while so far in FYTD, the local currency has gained by PKR 14.18 or 9.22% against the greenback. In CY21, the appreciation has been PKR 5.96 or 3.88%.
Alternatively, the currency gained 24 paisa against the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 213.67 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 213.91 per GBP.
On the other hand, PKR's value weakened by 54 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 185.39 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an Open Market Operation in which it injected Rs.1817.35 billion for 7 days at 7.05 percent.
The overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 7.10/7.20 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 7.05/7.10 percent.
Copyright Mettis Link News
40848
